On Wednesday, leaders of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Bali, Indonesia.

The document was significant not only for China, but for the ASEAN countries because it means China has become the first strategic partner of ASEAN and ASEAN has also become the first regional group with which China has forged a strategic partnership.

In the document, the two sides reviewed the past fruits of bilateral relations and drew up prospects for their further development.

Politically, the two sides expressed wishes to further enhance mutual trust in the spirit of the agreements and documents they have reached.

Given bilateral sensitivity on some political issues, particularly disputes on the ownership of some islands on the South China Sea and occasional dissemination of the "China threat" myth by some international forces, the statement shows the two sides have attached great importance to the forging of mutual trust.

In the economic field, the two sides said they would continue strengthening beneficial co-operation in agriculture, the information industry, human resources and mutual investment, as well as economic development of the Mekong Basin.

The two sides also said they would speed up the process of constructing a China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA), which was outlined in a framework agreement signed last year and is due to be completed by 2010.

Concerning security, China and the ASEAN countries expressed willingness to further enhance mutual trust through high-level contacts and setting up consultative mechanisms at various levels to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and the region as a whole.

In the document, the two sides reached a consensus to continue pushing for bilateral co-operation in various international and regional multilateral mechanisms and develop their strategic partnership for non-aligned, non-military, and non-exclusive purposes.

The milestone document not only reflects the past achievements China-ASEAN ties have achieved, but demonstrates their willingness to make bigger strides in advancing bilateral ties.

Although a fully mature and stable China-ASEAN relationship needs more time to cultivate, there are good reasons to believe the region, which bases its ties upon more openness and increasing mutual trust, will play a larger role in the international arena.

(China Daily October 10, 2003)